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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The most difficult book review

Writing this is not easy. The difficulty of writing a review for this book is not the same as the grueling book reports for classic literary pieces such as the Iliad and Odyssey. The difficulty arises from a self-imposed fear of failing to provide the much deserved acclamation for a modern day literary masterpiece.

The book I’m talking about is John Green’s The Fault in our Stars. I don’t exactly remember when and why I decided to acquire its e-book version. I guess I was enticed by the fact that it remained in the list of the most purchased in Amazon. After having the e-book, I kept it sleeping in my iBooks. I later discovered that this piece is one of John Green’s bestsellers in the three major bookstores in the Philippines.I was intrigued so during the holiday break, I decided to purchase a real copy of the book. True enough, it was an expensive purchase I never regretted.

The Fault in our Stars is the story of two teenage kids (you bet...) who found love in each other arms.What was supposedly an ordinary love story was made special because Hazel and Augustus both have Cancer. Aside from sharing the same struggle, Hazel and Augustus became bounded by Hazel’s dream of meeting Peter Van Houten. The entire story contained Hazel’s appreciation to An Imperial Affliction (AIA), a book that related the journey of another young cancer patient. Hazel desccribes Van Houten as a non-cancer patient, who perfectly captured the sentiments of a cancer patient. Unfortunately, Van Houten's book ended with unsettled issues. Hazel's dream of knowing the story's real ending made her want to personally meet Van Houten to Amsterdam. Traveling from US to Amsterdam is not easy in the case of Hazel and Augustus, who are restrained by their Cancer or what they call as the side effect of dying.

Though the entire story was surrounded by sadness, it was on the contrary overflowing with love. Some people would claim that love is the same at the end of the day. What makes it different is the way it was translated to different stories and situations. Augustus, Hazel and her family showed me another dimension of love. The rare picture of love that is weaved from pain and dying left that rare emotional pinches in my heart.

Augustus' love for Hazel could have been enough to make the story. John Green however created another angle that nearly broke my heart. The sentiments of Hazel's mother gave me more reasons to develop an emotional attachment to the story. Death is often equated to losing someone. Motherhood defines death in a different way. The absence of a child doesn't take away motherhood. It is a gift that can never be taken away even by our Creator. The pain of becoming the mother of a deceased child worsens when the society emphasizes that you have been a great mom. Truth is, motherhood doesn't actually end with death.

Aside from the great story, the entire book was enriched with words that relate the painful realities about love. That despite the pain, why do we chose to love in the first place? Here are some great words that John Green crafted to perfection

Overall, I'm giving the book 5 out 5 stars. Character development, unpredictable ending, and a perfect story line were all captured by John Green. For the first time, I found a book that made say, I could not ask for more.

4 comments

You gave us some really good quotes from the book! I now understand why you call it a masterpiece. Definitely would enjoy reading a book like that, and taking my time with it.Thank you for this great review, Diane!!!

Was hoping you could point me to your blog post about your goals for 2013. I seem to have missed it, even though I clearly remember reading it and spotting a link-submission widget, but after going through your archives for December and January, I can't seem to find it... Do let me know?

Wow, what an *awesome* review!!! Very well-written, and the first paragraph made me laugh out loud....you are too cute, Diane! I trust you if you say it's a modern-day masterpiece, then I know it is!!! I'm so happy you linked-up, and I will definitely add this one to my Must Read List!

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Thank you for visiting :) My name is Diane and welcome to my home in the blogosphere.

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